EDUCATION
countries are invited regularly to review and advise on academic developments. Quali- fications for graduates have become prerequisites for admission to professional practice in fields such as architecture, dentistry, engineering, law, medicine, psychology, social work, quantity surveying and urban planning.
New academic developments are undertaken in close consultation with the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee, as well as relevant government departments and other agencies such as the Education and Manpower Branch of the Government Secretariat, the Environmental Protection Department, the Social Welfare Department and the Industry Development Board. Close contact enables the university to plan new initiatives in direct response to specific community and manpower needs. One example is the new part-time Master of Science programme in Environmental Management, introduced in the 1989– 90 academic year, which adopted a multi-disciplinary approach in training the much- demanded personnel in environmental protection.
To keep pace with academic developments and increasing student numbers, the uni- versity is undergoing substantial physical redevelopment. The K K Leung Building, a 20-storey academic building on the main estate, came into use in 1989 and an extension to the main library is due for completion in 1990-1.
Accommodation is currently provided by the university for about 25 per cent of its undergraduate students. There are seven residential halls and two non-residential halls. Planning is in hand to build two additional 400-place halls of residence, plus a 150-place hall for 'on-call' clinical students. A number of postgraduate students and academic visitors to the university can be accommodated at the Robert Black College on-the main estate. There are three student amenities centres providing study, recreational and restaurant facilities for those students who are unable to obtain a place in a hall of residence.
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The University Main Library, with its collection of over 900 000 volumes, is one of the best equipped in South-east Asia, and includes a unique and invaluable collection of Chinese works. There are other specialist libraries located in the Faculties of Dentistry, Education, Law, Medicine and Music. The university also has its own publisher and bindery. The Fung Ping Shan Museum, situated in Bonham Road, is a University Museum which is open to the public on weekdays. The museum's collections are chiefly Chinese paintings, ceramics and bronzes dating back to the third millenium BC.
Apart from the regular student enrolment, the university offers about 1 500 courses to some further 35 000 students each year through its Department of Extra-Mural Studies. While the department teaches a considerable number of courses in a wide range of disciplines, a major thrust of its programmes is in the development of degree, postgraduate and professional courses. Most of the students attend courses at the end of the working day mainly on university premises either in the Extra-Mural Studies Town Centre in Central District, or at the university campus.
Graduate Teachers
The training of graduate teachers for secondary schools is undertaken by the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong and the School of Education of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In the University of Hong Kong, more than 800 students were enrolled in the Post- graduate Certificate in Education programme, both full-time and part-time, in 1988-9. For further professional and academic development of teachers, the faculty offers Advanced Diploma and MEd programmes by coursework and dissertation in a variety of curriculum
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